Truce
by M.Marle
Summary: Let's get one thing straight, Avatar. Just because you are the Avatar, doesn't mean I have like you.


Long time no post. This is a Makorra...ish oneshot. This is something I wrote a while ago and only posted on tumblr. I forgot to post it here, lololololol

Enjoy?

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><p>"<em>Let's get one thing straight, Avatar. Just because you <strong>are<strong> the Avatar, doesn't mean I have **like** you."_

Korra sat tensely against the vast hill over looking Republic City. The grass beneath her was wet from the unexpected rain shower earlier that day and as her fingers danced anxiously against her thigh, the water around her bounced to her rhythm.

Suddenly ceasing the drumming, the suspended water collided viciously with ground. Tired arms clamped around grass stained knees as she brought them against her chest. The humidity in this damned city caused her to feel suffocated and heavy. Her forehead, misted with perspiration, was furrowed in a bitter scowl.

Laying her back against the damp hill, Korra pressed herself into the dirt. The soil felt cool against her warm skin and she let out a long held breath before staring up into the darkening sky.

_So what if he doesn't like me? Lots of people don't like me. It's nothing new, Korra. Deal with it._

Korra pressed her left arm into her stomach as she pressed her right into the ground. Her nails dug into the soil, making an imprint. Korra picked up her hand and stared at the mud and grass that wedged in between her nails. She absentmindedly picked the dirt out, bending figures in her hand with the trapped debris that came forth. Casually making muddy silhouettes of her father and mother, Korra's lips raised to a thoughtful smile.

_Hm… I wonder if mom's making some sea prunes with seal jerky right now…_

Korra heard her stomach rumble at the thought. Pressing her hand against her stomach, she let out another sigh.

_Bet dad came hope with a big catch… Probably gutting it now so mom can make some soup… Mmm, mom's soup…_

Her tongue poked out from behind her dry lips, moistening them in the memory of the meal. She could almost smell the warm fish meat swimming in the bowl in front of her. The smell of her old home, the cool smell of fresh snow, the odor of the water that her father often came home smelling like because he couldn't help but jump into the water to get the biggest fish.

Korra bent away the harsh tears that threatened to fall. She missed her mother and father dearly, that she could admit, but she refused to cry. She knew they were all right. She knew she'd see them again soon. It was just not as soon as she had hoped. She had a duty to learn Airbending so she could better serve the world. She _was_ the Avatar after all.

"_For someone whose duty it is to protect the world, you sure are selfish."_

Korra's breath hitched at the memory of the harsh words. Her fist clenched and the dirt that was once floating above it, fell back to the ground soundlessly. Korra rested both of her hands on her stomach and glared into the night sky. She hadn't even noticed the sun set. The corners of Korra's mouth twisted up devilishly.

_Good. The jerk doesn't have his main energy source now. I'll have to remember to give him a good punch in the head next time I see him. That'll show him._

Korra yawned loudly and pushed her arms behind her head. Burying herself deeper into the hill, Korra laid with her arms and legs out stretched, her face pointed towards the sky and her eyes shut. In her bones, she could feel another rain shower quickly approaching. It was something that came naturally to her as a waterbender, like when the tides came in or out. Korra felt the first droplets of rain hit her face sporadically before falling with more intensity. As suddenly as it came, Korra ceased to feel the water falling upon her. Opening her light blue eyes to see what had stopped the water, she was met with a dark figure looming over her. Acting before thinking, as she normally did, she set a fireball straight through the figure, immediately bursting it into flames that were tamed by the falling rain.

"That was a brand new umbrella," came a husky voice, an all too familiar husky voice. Sitting up, Korra turned towards the young firebender who was extinguishing the remaining flames on his now ruined umbrella. Letting out an annoyed huff, Korra turned away from him.

"Serves you right. Sneaking up on me like that. Next time I'll burn your face off," she said as she bent a barrier between her and the falling rain. The firebender let out a tired sigh and looked at her with golden eyes. There was a small pause before the boy spoke.

"Any room for me under there?"

"Nope."

"…"

Korra surrounded herself in a bubble of rainwater, completely cutting off any view of the tall boy. While he thought of a response, Korra listened to the shuffle of cloth as he shifted his weight onto his right leg. He'd done something to his left knee during their last pro-bending match, _that_ she remembered, but he hadn't made a fuss about it so she didn't know it ached him until the match was long over. He had continued fighting though she told by his mannerisms that it pained him. Not that she really cared.

"You're acting like a child," came the voice again, this time much more annoyed. Korra could feel him digging his heel into the ground next to her in frustration.

"Am not," she sent a splash of water towards the boy's face. She smirked at the soft sputter and cough that arose from her victim.

"Not helping your case, Avatar!"

"Use my name and I may consider letting you my fortress a la water, _Mako."_

She heard another exasperated sigh escape his lips before she heard a _plop_ sound next to her. Making a small peephole in her barrier, she peered through at Mako. The rain was coming down harder and thus soaked the firebender through to the bone, his scarf was a deeper red than it normally was and much heavier with the collected water. Mako's hair, usually up in a spiky fashion, was matted down and dripping onto his jacket. His clothes clung desperately to his skin as though it would cease to exist if it loosened its grasp. Not saying a word, Mako stared ahead towards the city, admiring the lights at illuminated out of the apartment windows and watching the vendors quickly pack away their products before the rain washed them away.

"You should get out of the rain, _Korra_. You'll catch your death," Mako said.

"I am out of the rain. Maybe you should find some shelter, fireboy," Korra replied back, a little less than impressed by her nickname. Mako sighed again and shifted so his left knee was sprawled out straight in front of him. Still watching from her peephole, Korra watched Mako massaged his knee tenderly.

"You never did say what you did to it. Does it hurt?" she asked, keeping her voice as unconcerned as possible. How well she hid it was up for interpretation, but Mako did not seem to recognize it and Korra was fine with that.

"It's nothing. Just sore," Mako bent his knee slightly, gauging the pain, before settling it down straight again. Korra eyed the firebender with slight guilt. Had she been the reason? Did she mess up somehow during the match that caused Mako to lose his footing or lose his train of thought? Shaking the thought out of her head, Korra closed the peephole once more.

_Whatever. I didn't do anything wrong. Mako's probably just clumsier than he lets on. Still doesn't give him the right to talk to me the way he did…_

Mako let out a small hiss next to her, bringing her out of her thoughts. Lifting a wall of her water barrier, Korra looked at Mako. He was still holding his knee, only instead of a small look of discomfort on his face; he wore a look of uncontrollable pain. Korra's furrowed eyebrows relaxed and she shook her head at the boy. Dropping the wall around her, she felt the cold raindrops begin to hit her brown skin. She turned towards Mako and held her palms up towards the sky, motioning him towards her.

"Gimme' your knee," Korra requested, her tone more demanding than anything else. Turning his face towards her, Mako's nose scrunched in defiance.

"It's fine. I can handle myself," Mako responded, his hand gingerly touching his knee. Ignoring his request, Korra moved his hands away and began to massage the other's knee. Pressing too forcefully, Mako jerked back in surprise.

"Stop being such a baby," Korra said, roughly keeping his leg down. The rain was coming down full force now, pressing her hair down against the back of her neck and cheeks, "It'll only hurt more if you move."

"At least be gentle," Mako said. He watched as her strong fingers worked out the sore muscles in his knee, her face scrunched with concentration, "You're Water Tribe, aren't you? Can't you heal it?"

Pinching a sore muscle and causing Mako to let out a high-pitched squeak, Korra stopped her mannerisms and looked up at the boy.

"If I knew how, do you think I would be doing this right now?" Korra sighed in annoyance.

"You're still mad about earlier, aren't you?" Mako questioned suddenly. Korra chewed the inside of her cheek; he was good at guessing how she felt, most likely from years of having to do the same thing to Bolin. She sat back on her haunches and glared at him, her eyes burning more intensely than any flame either of them could dream of producing.

"I get you not liking me. Fine, I don't like you either. But I'm helping you out, you know. You needed a waterbender for your team and I accepted. I'm _not_ selfish!"

"First off, I didn't want you as our waterbender. You're too impulsive. You have no idea what it's like to work on a team for a common goal. Second, you never listen to me. As team captain, if I give you instructions you should follow them for the good of the team."

He felt his words were crueler than he intended, but Mako made no motion to take them back or apologize. Korra continued to glare at him with the same intensity as before. _Team leader, huh?_ She thought and flicked his nose harshly. As he reached up and grabbed his nose in surprise, Korra reached forward and grabbed his collar, pulling him closer so that they were nose to nose.

"Listen here, pretty boy. I may not be the best team member, but at least I don't keep secrets that could jeopardize the team. You take it upon yourself to never let anyone know when you're injured or worse. Last time I checked being part of a team means letting your teammates know when something is wrong, not just taking the full brunt alone. Get off your high horse, you're no better than me."

Mako opened his mouth to retaliate, but stopped himself. She had a point; a good one at that, but he would never admit it to her. _Especially_ not her. Korra waited for his response; hiding the satisfied feeling growing in her stomach from knowing she got him. Giving up, Mako maneuvered out of her grasp and sat back on his arms, looking out towards Republic City.

"Hmph," was all he managed to mutter. Rolling her eyes at his stubbornness, Korra haphazardly pushed his leg away from her. Mako bit his lip to avoid another yelp and glared at her once more, "You're so careless!"

"Like I said, how am I supposed to know it hurts if you don't tell me?"

"The wincing and yelping aren't indicators?"

"You could just be a wimp for all I know," Korra bent a barrier over herself again, bending the water and mud out of her soaked clothes. Mako watched her and let out an aggravated breath. He shifted so he was sitting up again and faced Korra so that he was looking her square in the eye.

"Fine. Bolin and the other earthbender's disks collided next to me. A piece came off full speed and broke through my knee pad," Mako explained, rubbing the injured joint again. Korra watched him carefully and eyed his knee. She covered him under the barrier of water and bent the water out of his clothes and hair. Sitting next to him, she gave him a small smile and punched his shoulder playfully.

"See? That wasn't so bad now was it?" She said as she watched the rainfall around them. Mako looked at the girl with a mix of annoyance, bewilderment, and defeat.

"Does this mean that you'll actually listen to me during our next match?" He inquired.

Tapping her chin in a thoughtful manner, Korra shrugged, "I don't know, maybe."

"Korra…"

"Ha-ha, relax! Yeah, yeah! I will. Teamwork, yadda yadda…" she said, as she leaned against her knees. Mako sighed again and looked out at the cityscape. Korra glanced at him and blinked with realization. Lifting her arm, she punched the back of Mako's head hard enough to get his attention, but not leave any damage.

"That was for the 'selfish' comment earlier by the way. And for being a general ass about things. Don't think that just because Sifu Tenzin's teaching me about inner peace that I won't give you a knuckle sandwich when you deserve it," Korra said, her tone serious and almost menacing, "I'm no push over."

"I know," Mako said, rubbing the sore spot on his head, "When you prove to me that you can work on a team, I'll think about apologizing."

"Was that an attempt at a joke, Mako? 'Cause it was terrible," She teased, though she kept her poker face up. Ignoring her, Mako made moved to stand up. Korra maneuvered her barrier so that it continued to cover him as he stood to his full height.

"Truce?" Mako held out his hand towards her in a very business like fashion. Looking at his hand for a moment, Korra eventually accepted, giving the firebender a firm handshake, nearly crushing his hand with the force of it.

"Truce."

Helping her off the ground, Korra stood up straight and stretched out her back. Mako massaged his hand while she wasn't looking. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of knowing her handshakes hurt; though he knew he would be feeling the after effects well into their next pro-bending match. He waited for her to situate herself before walked down the muddy hill towards his and Bolin's apartment. Korra walked next to him, satisfied knowing that though they weren't best friends, they at least had an understanding towards each other. As they walked in silence next to each other, Korra made sure to keep protecting them from the falling rainwater.


End file.
